To get a marriage license in Kentucky, both parties seeking to enter into the union must be present at a county clerk's office when applying for the license.
That wasn't a problem for one man who recently went to the Rowan County Clerk's Office in Morehead to get the document, at least from his perspective.
The man wanted to marry Jesus.
And "Jesus is always present," he reportedly told a deputy clerk.
Since Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis set off a national firestorm over her defiant stance toward same-sex marriage, deputy clerks — who are issuing licenses despite Davis' objections — have been filing regular status reports to a federal court with their observations.
Deputy Clerk Kristy Plank on Monday reported that, to her knowledge, every marriage license requested by a qualified couple had been issued since Davis returned to work earlier this month after a five-day jail stint.
The only denial was to the man who wanted to marry his Lord and Savior, according to the status report, which was filed by an attorney representing Plank. A deputy clerk told the man, who was not named in the court filing, that both parties had to be present. He responded that Jesus was "always present."
The man left empty-handed but came back — this time with a "type of power of attorney document" from his church granting him the authority to put Jesus' signature on the form, the status report said.
"Since both parties were not present, those requests were denied," the report concluded.
Last week, in a more serious development, another deputy clerk reported that Davis may be violating a federal court order by altering the marriage license documents. In Monday's status report, Plank's attorney noted that she normally doesn't issue those documents, instead focusing on motor vehicle matters.
(Image via Wikimedia Commons)
